A Man of Bitter Regret
by ObsidianWingsOfMidnight
Summary: What if Zod had a different reason for trying to destroy Superman? What if it wasn't just because he wanted to rebuild Krypton? What if it was because he'd once had deeper feelings for someone on Krypton? Because my mind goes weird places. M/M One shot


**A/N: I got Man of Steel for Christmas and my brain somehow translated the interaction between General Zod and Jor-El into this. I think I'm reading to much yaoi...maybe I should take a break haha. So I made this as an excuse for why Zod decided to be such a dick to Superman. Rated T just in case, and didn't really know what genre to put this in...Anyhoo, if you're as weird as me and thought they acted like they had a bad break up, then enjoy ;) If not...why the heck are you even reading this? O_O**

"What are you doing, Zod? This is madness," he told me.

"What I should have done years ago. These lawmakers, with their endless debates, have led Krypton to ruin!"

"And if your forces prevail? You'll be the leader of nothing!" he exclaimed.

"Then join me. Help me save our race," I said, grabbing his shoulder. "We'll start anew. We'll sever the degenerative bloodlines that led us to this state." I wanted him to come with me. We could do great things. We belonged together.

"And who will decide which bloodlines survive, Zod? You?" he asked, coldness creeping into his voice. My hands curled into fists at my sides. This is not how things were supposed to go.

"Don't do this, El. The last thing I want is for us to be enemies." It was the truth. I could not lie to him. He meant far too much to me. I wanted to be friends. I wanted to be so much more.

"You have abandoned the principles that bound us together. You've taken up the sword against your own people," he accused me. Was that all he thought we were bound by. Principles? Not the days we spent side by side, or the bond we once shared? My heart grew colder when he spoke yet again.

"I will honor the man you once were, Zod. Not this monster you've become," he said, voice becoming softer at the last statement and eyes dropping from mine as he stepped away. Perhaps he was remembering how much we had once cared for each other. How I still cared.

I let my eyes fall as well. I could not convince him. He was determined to be stubborn. It was one of the reasons I loved him. He didn't believe in giving up. Just this once though, I wished he would change his mind.

"Take him away," I ordered, turning from my old friend. A few minutes later I heard a scuffle break out. When I reached my men however, Jor-El had escaped, flying off into the warring skies.

Furious, I gathered the remainder of my forces and headed straight to the citadel, where I had heard his wife would be. Lara. Just thinking of her left a bitter taste in my mouth. No matter what enemies I faced to protect Krypton, she would always be my greatest rival. The opponent I had lost to.

My mind raced back to a time before Lara. A time when Jor belonged to me. When we were young and full of life, eager to fulfill our roles in society, not with such deep sadness and regrets that age had brought upon us.

I remembered with perfect clarity the night he spit us apart.

_We lay in his bed, slightly breathless from our activity. I reached out to run my fingers through his wavy brown hair. One of his hands reached up to rest against my chest. He turned his gentle green eyes upon me, and I saw a sadness in them I didn't understand. I was soon to discover the cause of his anguish._

_I leant down to kiss him, felt him melt under our contact, and smiled to myself. But when we parted there were tears in his eyes, and I hesitated, confused._

_"Dru," he said quietly, "I think… I think we need to stop seeing each other."_

_I froze, speechless. I didn't dare to breathe, much less speak. The warmth and happiness I had felt just seconds ago were leached from my body. I was suddenly freezing, despite the warm summer air that drifted in through the window. I could not understand what he was saying. Did he not feel for me as I felt for him. I couldn't hide the look of hurt on my face at that thought._

_He tried to explain his reasoning. I was a warrior. He was a scientist. We were bred for different lives. We did not-could not- see things the same. None of that mattered to me, but apparently it mattered to him._

_For the first time ever, I inwardly cursed our birthing system. It was stupid of me. Our system was perfectly rational. It was me that was wrong._

_I was born to protect our planet. It was the reason for my entire existence. At least, it was supposed to be. From the minute I met Jor-El he engulfed my life. To me, he was more important than the whole of Krypton. But that was wrong. I wasn't supposed to feel that way. Something must have gone wrong with me in the genesis chamber._

_Hearing him tell me I wasn't needed- it was like my very heart and soul were being crushed. I didn't stay after that. And from then on I treated him as if we were indifferent acquaintances. He followed my example after a few years of my cold behavior. I was not brave enough nor strong enough to continue being his friend after we had shared so much more._

He was already at the citadel when we arrived.

"I know you stole the codex, Jor-El," I said. "Surrender it, and I'll let you live." I tried to put conviction behind the implication that I would kill him otherwise, but I couldn't tell if it worked or not.

"This is a second chance for all of Krypton. Not just the bloodlines that you deem worthy," he replied.

"What have you done?" I hissed. Second chance? For some reason that sounded ominous to me.

"We have had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries. And he will be free. Free to forge his own destiny," he told me, holding his head up proudly.

"Heresy!" I spat out. Red hot rage filled my veins. Was this the real reason he rejected me all those years ago? To have a child? He threw away our love- he threw away me- so some whore could give him a baby? Jealousy burned through me to know I could never have given him such a thing.

"Destroy it!" I yelled to my men, pointing at the abomination that had taken everything from me. I saw now that it was not Lara whom I had competed with for Jor's affection, but the child instead. The one who got to choose his own fate.

Everything got hazy after that. I fought with Jor-El, that much I knew. All I saw was red. Even then, a part of me held back, and I was thrown to the floor, forced to watch helplessly as that bastard child was sent away from our dying planet.

The next thing I knew, I was stabbing Jor-El, the only person I had ever loved. I watched wordlessly as he collapsed on the ground and the life in his eyes drained slowly away. The beautiful green of his eyes dulled til I no longer recognized them.

This was not what I wanted. It had never been my plan for Jor to die, especially at my own hand. I could not erase what I had done though. The only thing I could do now was go after his son. Kal, as Lara called him.

Jor was dead because of that child. I could not allow him to die for no reason. If I let the boy go, I would have killed Jor for nothing. It was my duty to end the boy's life. So I vowed to kill that child, no matter the cost. I would kill him for what he did to Jor. And for what he did to me.


End file.
